Theo Rigby’s new documentary Si Pudiera Quedarme/If I Could Stay follows sanctuary activists Jeanette Vizguerra and Ingrid Encalada Latorre as they resist deportation to stay with their families and communities. At its heart is a story of courage. Standing in front of a classroom in Denver, Vizguerra explains it like this: “Like all people I am afraid, but I also feel the moral duty to raise my voice as a person, mother, and woman. Because the problems I am facing are happening to thousands of others on the street. And someone has to be the person putting their finger on that problem.”
Sanctuary as a tactic emerged during the Vietnam War, when houses of worship shielded draft resisters from arrest. The 1980s saw the advent of the Sanctuary Movement, which focused on critiquing the Reagan administration and giving Central American asylum seekers platforms to speak about the violence happening in their countries of origin. After the success of that movement, Sanctuary saw a revival in the 2010s. The “New Sanctuary Movement” critiqued our unjust immigration system by housing undocumented immigrants and giving them a platform to share their experiences and build power.
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